Automatic return toggle switch



Nov. 1, 1932. P. R. FORMAN AUTOMATIC RETURN TOGGLE SWITCH Filed Feb. 2, 1929 Patented Nov. 1, l1932 UITED vSTATES PATENT OFFICE'.l

` PARIS 12.. FoIt1vIAN,oI'ItAHWAY, NEW JERs'EmAssIGNoR To NATIoNAL PNEUMATIC COMPANY, or Nnwv YORK, N.. Y., A .CORPORATION oI wnsfr VIRGINIA Appnafion inea February 2, 1929. serial No. 337,105.

Thisinvention relates to an automatic return toggle `or over center switch.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of aswitchhaving an operating I1; member and a switch arm arranged so that ythe switch arm Vis not operated until the opi erating member is moved past the center of its path of movement, and the provision of means for normally returning such switch arm to one end of its path Vof movement.

. A further object of this' invention is the provision of a switch of this type in which the Contact arm and contacts are so constructed as to provide wiping contact therebetween. .n

A still further lobject of thisinvention is the vprovision of a toggle switch having double contacts for the purpose'of reducing arcing by reason of a simultaneous double break in the circuit-.connected to the contacts and means for keeping theswitch arm normally against one of 'said' contacts.

, A Suu further Object of ausV inventions the Vconstruction of a toggle switch whichis arranged to break one circuit and make another by means of a switch arm which oper-` ates veryrapidly and means to normally have said switch arm tend to complete but one of said circuits. f Y

These and other objects, as will appear 'from the following description are secured by means of this invention. -v

This invention resides substantially in the construction, combination, arrangement and relative locationofparts as will appear more fully from the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawing Figure lfis a front elevational `view of my novel switch structure; and j Fig.,2 is a side elevational view thereof. 1

This invention provides a toggle or over center switch having one main bearing for simplicity with a secondary toggle bearingv for throwing lthe switch arm after the operating member has moved over center, to.-k

erating member mustmove past the center of its path `of movement before the switchy arm `means for circuit wires.

is snapped froml one set of contacts lto the other. This, like my copending application, Serial No. 222,782, filed September 29, 1927, concerns itself with the thought of quick acting over center toggle switches. In lsaid application I have disclosed the general type of a switch which I hereinafter disclose and use viding a supporting member 1 of insulating material having holes therein for attaching it to a support. Mounted in the member 1 is a shaft 3 upon which is journalled a hollow operating member 4 having'a hollow projecting arm 5. A second insulating support 9 is mounted on the shaft or post 3 and the hollow structure is held in assembly by means of nuts 6 which provide terminal connecting Contact'means or posts 7 and 8 are alsovmounted between the supports 1 and 9.l Pivotally mounted on the post 3 and within the operating member 4 is the switch arm 10 which has thereon notches 11 to' increaseV the contact area of the arm with contacts 7, 8. Grooves are cut in each of the contacts as may be seen by observing the structure as shown at numeral 11 in Fig. 2.

These notches are tapered so that wiping Contact is made with the terminal contacts 7, 8 when the switch armflO is moved against y or away from said terminal posts. A rod 12 is pivotally connected to the lever 10 and is mounted to slide through a washer 14 mountaction ofthe spring 15. l

This is the structure as I have delineatedit in my copending application and the Voperation of which I now explain as follows: Ihen the operating member l is manually or mechanically swung byits projecting arm 5 between the supports about the post 3 it will ed within the operating member against the loo snap the switch arm from the left to the right shortly after the rod 12, pivoted at 13, and off-centered from the axis of the post 3, moves past the center of its path of movement. T he spring which is compressed up to the time when the arm 10 begins to move provides the energy for swinging the switch arm from one set of contacts to the other, thus providing a switch of the two-way type.

l, This switch as may be seen from the aforegoing disclosure might ordinarily normally repose so that the contact arm 10 may contact with either the post 7 or 8, and this is substantially the disclosure and method of operation of the invention set forth in my cepending application. However, I have found that for certain purposes this type of switch is best adapted to normally retain the switch arm 10 against one of these two contacts and intermittently cause it to contact with the other of said contacts. rlhat is, I have found that for certain purposes it is preferable that the Contact be normally made against one of the twoposts 7 or 8 and especially and abnormally made by manually or mechanically forcing it against the other of said posts against the action of some resilient returning device, such as a spring, which will act to return said switch arm to its normal position the minute that it is released from the intermittent and abnormal force. It is my thought that it is preferable at times to have one circuit normally closed and another circuit normally open and by special intermittent throwing of my single-pole double-throw switch to open said normally closed circuit and to close a normally open circuit. I attain these new purposes by utilizing the type of switch I have hereinbefore described and adapting to i its structure a resilient returning member so that the operating body 4 is normally held to one end of its stroke and will never pass the rcenter point of its path of movement unless pushed across said point by a special actuating force. Referring to the drawing it will be seen that 16 represents an actual spring having end 17 firmly adjusted in the supporting body 1 of the switch structure and having its opposite end 18, after said spring is tensioned by properly winding it, located in the movable operating member 4. It is apparent that the effect of this spring is to normally hold the element lto one side of center and to correspondingly hold the element 10 to one side of center. However, when the arm 5 is grasped and forcibly moved against the force of the spring past center the Contact arm .10 will quickly act, as I have disclosed it in my copending application, to make Contact with the other contact post. l/ihen the arm 5 is released the spring will act to return the arm 5 to its normal sitting position and the contact 'arm 10 will quickly act to break the circuit against the intermittent post and make it against the normal post.

Although I have thus described my improvement as consisting in the spring embodiment adapted to be used with the novel structure set forth in my copending application it is quite apparent to one skilled in the art that any resilient returning membe-r, other than a spring, might be properly adapted to be used for this purpose and I do not desire to be limited to the use of a spring in my structure, but merely to the thought of normally retaining a. contact arm of the quick moving toggle type over-center switch against one end of its stroke.

In the drawing I have also shown the type of spring I use as being of helical form and it is apparent that this, too, is but one form of embodiment of my invention. I have shown, also, tentative locations for the ends of the spring at certain positions such as 17 and 18 and, although, at the present time,v

such locations seem to give practical and desirable results I do not desire to limit myself in this direction, but place the limits and scope of this invention as it is defined in the hereinafter appended claims.

From the aforegoing disclosure it will be apparent that I have devised a new and Vnovel form of toggle switch which is relatively simple in construction and which in the normal operation thereof provides means for reducing arcing by means of the wiping contact as well as a cleaning operation together with the provision of means for normally retaining such switch against one of two optional contacts. i

It is also to be understood that the language contained in the following claims is intended to cover all the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope ofV the invention which, philologically speaking and as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What I seek to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In a single-pole double-throw switch, a support having a pivot pin and a plurality of contacts therein, said pivot pin forming one loS terminal of the switch, an operating member l one terminal of the switch, an operating member journaled onsaid pivot pin, a. switch arm pivoted on said pivot pin, means connecting said member and varm for snapping said arm from one contact'to the other when said member is moved past the'center of its path of movement, and a spring for normally holding said arm against one of said contacts.

3. In a single-pole double-throw switch, a 5 support having a pivot pin and a plurality of contacts therein, said pivot pin forming one terminal of the switch, an operating member journaled on said pivot pin, a switch arm pivoted on said pivot pin and means connect- 0 ing said member and arm for snapping said arm from one contact to the other when said member is moved past the center of its path of movement, said arm and contact being'co-nstructed to provide a wiping contact with 5 each other, and resilient means to normally hold said operating memberV to one side of the center of said path of movement and thereby normally hold said switch arm against one of said contacts. 0 4. In a toggle switch, a pair of supports, a pivot post rigidly supporting said supports in spaced relation, contacts on said supports, a hollow member having a stop plate thereon movably supported on said post, a switch arm pivoted on said post within said hollow member and means comprising a rod having a stop plate thereon pivotally connected to said switch arm and extending through said stop plate in the hollow member and a spring 0 encircling said rod lying between the stop plates for causing said arm to swing from one set of contacts to another when said memf ber is moved past the center of its path of movement, and resilient means for normally 5 causing said arm to remain against one of said set of contacts.

5. In a toggle switch, a pair of supports, a pivot post rigidly supporting said supports in spaced relation, contacts on said supports, a hollow member movably supported on said post, a switch arm pivoted on said post within said hollow member, a rod slidably mounted in said hollow member and pivotally convnected to said arm, and a spring encircling said rod abutting against said member to cause said arm to snap from one set of contacts to another when said member is rotated about said post, and means to normally prevent such rotation thereby normally completin g continuously one circuit.

6. In a toggle switch construction, the combination of two spaced supports, a pivot post for holding the spaced supports in fixed relation, a plurality of contact posts secured between said spaced supports, said post comprising a reduced portion on which is slidably mounted contact members under spring pressure, a switch arm pivotally att-ached to said pivot post, a hollow member forming the switch handle also pivotally mounted on said pivot post, a rod pivotally attached to said switch arm and extending into said hollow member and a compression spring encircling said rod whereby the switch arm is snapped 55 into said wiping contact with said contact silient means for normally keeping said switch arm against one of said contacts and resilient means disposed in said hollow member to cause said switch arm to snap from one set of contacts to another when said hollow member is rotated about said post.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 28th day of January A. D.,

- PARIS R. FORMAN.

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